Every fall an unusual rite takes place within the confines of Husky Stadium. On
cue, some of the 74,000 fans rise from their seats for a brief moment, extend
their arms while yelling, and then sit back down again. The action is repeated
section by section, creating a cascade of arms and bodies that travels around
the horseshoe-shaped stadium.

Photo imaging
puts a spotlight on "The Wave" in Husky
Stadium. Photo by Mary Levin.

This spectacle--born in Husky Stadium in 1981--is called "The Wave." It is,
perhaps, the most famous wave born on campus (although a few UW physicists and
oceanographers might disagree) and has been copied by fans in stadiums across
the world. But there is another wave of bodies out there, one that is not a
self-contained, Saturday afternoon rite but rather an unstoppable flood that
will shake the foundations of the University of Washington and all of the
state's higher education.

This wave is primarily the "echo" of the original, post-World War II baby boom,
a tide of 17- to 22-year-olds who expect the same access to college that their
moms and dads had.

"They are already here. There is no escape," declares UW Geography Professor Richard
Morrill. Between 1990 and 2010, the traditional college-age population should
rise 35 percent, he says. On top of that mass are a surge of older adults
returning to college for new training.

According to the state board that coordinates higher education, the state of
Washington must prepare for a wave larger than the capacity of Husky Stadium--a
flood of 84,100 new full-time students by the year 2010. Making sure there
is enough room for these students would put the state in the 90th percentile
nationally in providing opportunities for college. (Washington is now just
about in the middle).

Even if that goal is too high, the state will still feel tremendous pressure
just to tread water. Take away the north and south upper levels of Husky
Stadium and you still have about 58,000 fans. That's about the number of new
spaces we'll need by 2010 to offer the same amount of access we do today. It's
the equivalent of creating another UW and another WSU.

"It's the most pressing and politically hot higher education issue in the
state," says UW
President Richard L. McCormick. "The UW has to be a partner with other
institutions in addressing this issue. We want to be part of the solution."

If nothing is done, many alumni who expect their children to go to the UW could
find the door slammed shut. The pressures are already much higher to get in
than they were in the '50s, '60s and '70s--more than 12,000 applied last year
for a freshman class of 3,700.

Currently a resident high school senior with about 1,000 combined SAT score and
a 3.5 grade point average (GPA) is admissible, says UW Admissions Director W.W.
"Tim" Washburn. If nothing is done to increase access, in just 10 years that
same student with the same SAT score would have to have a 3.75 GPA to get in.
(For current advice on entering the UW, see How
to Get Into the UW.)

Under this scenario, "The UW would become more elitist, perhaps less diverse,
and certainly more distant from the aspirations of the great majority of the
citizens of the state," says President McCormick.

"I would not want us to be that exclusive. This is not Harvard or Stanford; this is a public university. We
have to remain connected to the people of the state of Washington," he adds.

But many state citizens are unaware of the coming wave, according to a poll
taken last summer for the state Higher Education Coordinating (HEC) Board.
About 90 percent believed their children would be able to enroll in state
universities and colleges in the future. Pollster Stuart Elway said that
perception is "pretty far out of whack." Currently there is room for only about
half of all high school seniors. If nothing is done, by the year 2010 there
will only be room for one-third of that year's high school graduates.

Leaders at public universities, community colleges and private universities are
trying to educate citizens and the Legislature about the coming wave. All have
offered to meet part of the increased demand.

Several proposals in the current legislative session would increase enrollments
at state institutions. In its supplemental budget request, the UW is asking for
780 more full-time students spread between the Seattle campus and the branches.
But these efforts are just the first steps the state must take to contain the
coming deluge.

President McCormick has promised the HEC Board and legislators that the
Uinversity will carry its "fair share" of the load over the long term. But what
exactly that number might be--and how it might change the nature of the
University--is still up in the air.

"I used the term to set to rest the mistaken notion that the UW is too aloof,
that we're not responsible, that we think we have `more important' things to
do," McCormick says.

One way of looking at the UW's load is to extrapolate from today's numbers,
says Undergraduate Associate Dean Debra Friedman. Currently, the UW educates
40.2 percent of all undergraduates enrolled in public higher education
institutions in the state.

In 14 years, if the UW kept the same rate, it would have to accommodate between
12,000 and 18,000 more full-time students, numbers that beat the growth of the
1950s and '60s.

UW Admissions
Director W.W. "Tim" Washburn. Photo by Mary Levin.

UW Admissions Director Washburn looks at the bottom of that range--12,000--and
warns that it translates into enrolling at least 800 more full-time students
each year until 2010.

"The challenge is to make sure we keep our quality high," McCormick notes. Adds
Friedman, "We have to be very careful as the University increases enrollment.
We don't want to weaken the University with respect to its strengths in
education and research."

Officials can take some comfort looking back at how the UW handled the baby
boom of the '60s. Not only did the University expand, but at the same time it
hired rising stars for its faculty and built world-class academic
departments.

While that growth took place on the Seattle campus, McCormick, Friedman and
Washburn all agree that this time, the daytime Seattle program alone could not
possibly handle the wave.

"The growth of UW-Bothell and
UW-Tacoma will be very
important. The expansion of the evening
degree program and better use of summer quarter is important, too. I would be surprised if the expansion of the daytime Seattle program could
do as much as the other two," McCormick says.

Some modest growth during the day is a possibility. In 1979 the UW had a record
enrollment of 37,549; now the head count is about 34,000. "I see nothing
insurmountable to returning to the record highs of a decade ago," says
McCormick. "But it can't be done tomorrow. There aren't enough courses. Some
say there aren't enough courses here now for the students we currently have."

What can grow at the Seattle campus are the evening and summer programs.
Currently the UW serves about 1,000 students with 10 undergraduate and six
graduate-level programs in the evening. A master's in public administration
started last fall and an evening M.B.A. program will start Sept. 30. Since its
start in 1990, 388 evening students have already earned their degrees.

"There is considerable potential for growth," notes Vice Provost Richard
Lorenzen, who heads the UW's summer quarter, evening degree, distance learning and
extension
units. "But we are not going to attempt to replicate the entire University of
Washington in the evening."

The UW also has one of the largest summer quarter programs in the nation, with
more than 15,000 students. More than 80 percent of summer students are
continuing their studies from the regular academic year.

"One possibility is an increase over time, perhaps by 20 to 25 percent,"
Lorenzen says of summer study. "We can increase on the margin, but I just don't
know how much."

Work precludes many students from continuing their studies in the summer,
Lorenzen notes. In addition, many faculty use the summer to do their research.
"It is a particularly intense time for faculty with research grants," he
says.

Each UW branch campus could grow to 15,000 full-time students by 2025. Left:
An architect's rendering of one UW-Bothell plan shows a promenade ending
at a campanile. Drawing by Bill Johnson, courtesy of NBBJ. Right:
UW-Tacoma features a plaza with an old power station (upper right) transformed
into the library's reading room. Drawing courtesy of UW Capital Projects Office.
While there is uncertainty on how much the Seattle campus can handle, there is
little doubt about UW-Tacoma and UW-Bothell. "Built into the branches is the
assumption of growth," notes Friedman. In their master plans, each campus has
the target of 10,000 to 15,000 full-time students by 2025. Currently each has
less than 1,000.

Though in the past the campuses sometimes had difficulty attracting students,
both are now at full capacity. "Whatever concerns there used to be in the first
five years, that's history now," says UW- Bothell Dean Norman Rose. "How fast
can we grow in the future? The answer depends on how much the state is willing
to invest."

Today, the branches have junior- and senior-level courses and offer some
master's programs. That mission would continue during the coming wave. Both
Rose and UW-Tacoma Dean Vicki Carwein are working closely with the state
community college system to make the transition as "seamless" as possible.

"Demographic pressures will fill the branches," adds Friedman. "They will grow
and change as they accommodate more students."

But building new campuses from scratch takes time and money. "It's not going to
be cheap," warns Geography Professor Morrill. "For example, to be successful,
they have to have expensive science labs and hire expensive business
administration professors."

Another possible solution is using technology--which educators like to label
"distance learning." Computers, electronic mail, interactive video,
closed-circuit broadcasts, courses on a disk--the possibilities seem endless.
Currently the Legislature is considering funding a $34.5 million, high-speed
video and data network linking the state's four-year institutions and some
community colleges.

"The promise of distance learning is completely unknown," says Friedman, "but
it does open up other possibilities for our use of resources on campus."
Washburn is less sanguine. "Most studies have shown that distance learning is
more expensive than direct learning," he warns. "This is no magic pill."

Vice Provost Lorenzen, who heads a UW task force on distance learning, says
that high tech courses require "a lot of hardware and support services that are
unusual." Someone has to be there to make sure the computer connections are
working, for example, or to set up teleconferencing. "It can help, but I don't
think it is the solution in and of itself," he says.

McCormick remains upbeat about the potential. "Distance learning may help
students beyond the traditional college age complete a degree. I'm optimistic
but not foolhardy. Everyone remembers the promise of instructional TV in the
1950s.

"I do think this will pan out. It is not cheap but it is probably worth the
investment anyway. That's the way the world is going to work in the future,
with e-mail, interactive video and other technologies we cannot even
imagine."

Yet another solution is to redirect the resources that are already in
place--what UW officials call "efficiencies." Geography Professor Morrill is
outspoken about the need for change. "The University's system of teaching is
the same as when I was a student here in the 1950s. It really is a Middle Ages
way of teaching--five hours of classes scattered across the week. It's
medieval. Despite the rhetoric about distance learning, we need to have better
utilization of weekends and evenings. We need to talk about productivity."

Should the UW offer more classes later in the day or on Saturdays? Should
students be encouraged to graduate faster by penalizing those who "loiter,"
thus opening up space for new students knocking on the door? Should faculty and
staff be shifted from "low-demand" departments to those in "high demand?"

McCormick says it is too early in the process to answer those questions. Many
students have good reasons to take longer than four or five years to graduate,
he notes. Often they change their majors, have to work while going to school,
or are raising a family.

Reorganizing or even closing departments can cause a huge blow to morale. The
Faculty Senate is
currently rewriting procedures the UW would use if it had to close degree
programs. But closing a department in a time of burgeoning enrollments might
not make any sense. "We will find efficiencies," McCormick says. "If we must,
we will close the programs that need to be closed. But it is not a panacea."

The burden is not just on the UW's shoulders. Other state institutions will
also grow. WSU is asking the Legislature to
expand to 24,700 students in Pullman by 2010. The regional universities and
community colleges also are willing to take more students. Private universities
are willing to expand as well, and have asked the state to provide more
financial aid opportunities for students to attend their campuses.

But all this costs money at a time of less government, tax cuts and a spending
limit imposed under the 601 Initiative. If the state met the national
participation rate by the year 2010--it would cost an additional $480 million,
says one HEC Board study.

"The need has been laid out pretty well," says UW University Relations
Associate Vice President Sheral Burkey. "There is indeed a demographic bulge
coming. The question is, will anybody step up to pay for it?" Currently there
is a governor's task force headed by former state Rep. Joe King looking at ways
to fund higher education.

The wave is coming, and state government and higher education institutions are
beginning to plan for it. But there is another key player in preparing for the
wave--parents.

"Parents need to think about what they really want their children to get out of
an education. They need to make sure that children who want to go on will have
a place in the system--whether that is a community college, a branch campus,
the UW in Seattle or another state institution," says Friedman.

"They also need to let their legislators know what are the wants and desires
they have for their children," she adds.

Will Washington and the nation be ready for the coming wave? Geography
Professor Morrill hesitates. "I'm less confident and part of the reason is
demographic. If the elderly feel threatened by economic change, they might be
hesitant to support it. They have three times the electoral power they did in
the 1950s.

"But the baby boomers have a lot of power, too. I think they will, in fact, be
in favor of more higher education opportunities. After all, it's their kids.
They appreciate the necessity of a higher education and they'll vote for it."

The man at the top is the most optimistic. McCormick notes America's track
record of opening college doors wider and wider. First there was the GI Bill
after World War II, offering tremendous new opportunities. Later came the huge
expansion to meet the baby boom generation.

"Access to higher education is part of the American dream. No one is opposed to
providing opportunity to the next generation. The fundamental principle is
shared and deeply held throughout our society," he says. "Together we will find
a way to handle it." END

Tom Griffin is the editor of Columns.

For more information on access, the UW and state funding of higher education,
contact the UWAA Legislative Support Network via Bonnie Rush [Editor's Note, November 2000: For more information on these issues, contact UW's Office of Government Relations].